VZN Pay as you Go message "time available for this call..." -- can I disable it?

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Re: Uhhh, NO WAY DUDE

Originally posted by boomerang86 No such option exists for me when I dial *611. As a matter of fact, I just spoke to a VZW CS rep who told me this is not possible, but they are working on a solution. Sorry.

Perhaps they disabled it? When I was using VZW's prepaid just a couple of months ago, I disabled my "Minute Meter" by dialing *611 and going into the personal options menu. No problem... all automated and I didn't need to speak to a rep.

When FREEUP was still around, there was the option to turn off the "intro message" of how much time is available for this call. superasianguy is correct. When I changed my prepaid plan to the Pay As You Go, CS told me that you can't get the annoying message off.

Originally posted by berg_man When FREEUP was still around, there was the option to turn off the "intro message" of how much time is available for this call. superasianguy is correct. When I changed my prepaid plan to the Pay As You Go, CS told me that you can't get the annoying message off.

Sorry guys. I didn't realize PAYGo used a different system. I'm curious then, why did you switch from FreeUp to the new system?

Originally posted by justDave Sorry guys. I didn't realize PAYGo used a different system. I'm curious then, why did you switch from FreeUp to the new system?

It was mostly because of the rates.

On Freeup, it was, I believe .30/min .15 Nights and Weekends

On Pay As You Go, it is .10/min plus a .25 connection fee, anytime.

The reason why I switched is because it would be cheaper for me in the long run. The calls I make tend to be long. Plus, on Pay As You Go, (Correct me if I'm wrong) they don't charge for checking your voicemail from a landline, and also they don't charge you if someone calls and doesnt leave a message or anything.

I believe now that Verizon is making everyone switch over to the Pay As You Go rates. I thought I saw a post about that somewhere a few days ago.

Originally posted by berg_man I believe now that Verizon is making everyone switch over to the Pay As You Go rates. I thought I saw a post about that somewhere a few days ago.

They let me switch to the new rates about a month ago when I called and they didn't mess anything else up. They're supposed to be switching me to the new voicemail system soon - not that I really care. Hope I don't end up listening to balance announcements after that happens :-(

Originally posted by berg_man Plus, on Pay As You Go, (Correct me if I'm wrong) they don't charge for checking your voicemail from a landline, and also they don't charge you if someone calls and doesnt leave a message or anything.

This is correct. Under the old FREEUP plan, you would get charged minutes for anyone who reached your voicemail, no matter if they left a message or not... and they also charged for you checking your voicemail from a landline. The new PAYG plans eliminated these ridiculous charges -- you only get charged when you check your voicemail from your own cell phone, which is very reasonable... and I also heard that the older FREEUP customers are getting messages that they are being switched over to the newer, cheaper voicemail system as well.

marciow, I feel the same way. I have a friend who has had the Verizon prepaid service for about a year, and she has always been able to remove the minutes message. She just switched to the newer Kyocera phone and transferred her account to that one, and still can get rid of the message by dialing *611. Just three days ago, I got the same phone she got under the prepaid plan, and to my surprise, when I dial *611, I get a completely different recording and options. It seems the accounts that were activated during Freeup times are kept on a different database than the newer Pay As You Go ones. Also, I don't know if it has happened to you, but when I dial certain 800 numbers found on the Verizon support website, and they ask to input my mobile number, I get the recording: "Invalid number. Please try again". Again, I'm under the impression of these different databases.
I too contacted Verizon via *611 and I was told that that message was built into the service. I told the support lady that I had a friend who could disable the message, and I was told that it was probably because she had a postpaid account in the past, and she got a prepaid one later; which is completely inaccurate... honestly, some support people don't know crap about what's going on. Anyway, I thought I would be able to do as my friend did. I was VERY disappointed by this.
I decided I would give contacting customer support one more try. Just yesterday I sent them quite a lenghthy email concerning this... if and how I disable this annoyance; fit for one of the posts I have been reading on this board, I added "we shan't get into the «get a postpaid plan» issue".
You know, we should bombard Verizon telling them how this minutes message can get annoying. I mean, if it could be disabled before, why FORCE it on us now??!!! Let's keep the calls and the emails going on this, and hopefully then they'll go back to giving us the choice of hearing or NOT the doggone message.